The present invention relates to a floor and/or wall covering, its production process and an installation for putting the said process into effect.
More specifically, the invention relates to a floor and/or wall covering of the non-woven type and comprising at least one layer or web of parallel juxtaposed textile threads, as well as a supporting layer to which are individually fixed the different textile threads.
Hitherto the textile threads have been fixed by means of an appropriate glue or cement on the one hand, or a Malimo-type tack or stitch using a sewing thread for fixing the textile threads to the supporting layer on the other.
When the textile threads are glued to their support, the diameter of the said threads cannot be very large because the glued portion of the thread must be both relatively large relative to the unglued surface, but at the same time must stay sufficiently small so that the textile threads are not rigidified to too great an extent by the hardened glue, retaining on the visible side of the covering their textile feel and appearance. It has been found that this double requirement can only be satisfied by very thin threads so that the scope of application of the known covering of this type is limited to vertical panels and walls. Moreover, the glue used in these coverings is often a thermoplastic film which is integral with a sheet of paper which is heated to its softening temperature before applying the layer of textile threads thereto by pressure, and which loses its pliability relatively quickly and becomes rigid in such a way that the threads can easily be pulled out, whereby the covering deteriorates in a short time. During the manufacture of such a known covering, it is necessary to ensure that the textile threads are located in the same plane and can come into contact with the supporting layer covered with a film of glue because any textile thread located outside the thread layer plane cannot be fixed to its support. When large threads are used there is a danger of them being flattened during their application to the adhesive layer, and also of them being glued over a portion of the periphery thereof which is inadequate for preventing their premature pulling out. Analogous difficulties occur with twisted threads, layered threads and any other so-called fancy thread.
Attempts have already been made to obviate these disadvantages by using for the fixing of the large threads fine tacking or stitching threads inserted by means of a Malimo-type loom in such a way as to surround the visible side of the periphery of the threads and fix the said threads to the supporting layer. To the extent that the large threads are all of the same colour, the tacking thread can also be of the same colour so that the appearance of the covering is not impaired by the said tacking thread. However, the aesthetic appearance is impaired when the large threads are of different colour to one another and are fortiori different from the tacking thread colour. Quite apart from this disadvantage of an aesthetic nature, the covering of this known type cannot withstand intensive wear because the fine tacking thread is relatively weak and the large threads can be removed from their housing when no longer held in place by the tacking thread. Moreover, the weakness of the tacking thread prevents any usage of this type of covering as a floor covering.
To obviate this disadvantage, it has been proposed to cover the layer of large threads and the tacking threads with a plastic protective layer. However, this means that the covering no longer has the basic textile characteristics such as a soft and pliable feel which are absolutely necessary in a textile floor and/or wall covering.